For the first time in more than a month, coach Nick Saban got a recruiting commitment when William Ming, a defensive end from Athens, gave his non-binding word to the Tide. Ming, you'll recall, was the first prospect to take part in the now-famous video conferencing.

This commitment seems to be a pretty big one. Ming was considering, among others, LSU, Auburn, and Oklahoma. He is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com. According to Rivals, he is the ninth best DE in the country, while Scout has him 27th.

Any guesses as to Saban's reaction?

"He gave me a hug," Ming told me a few minutes ago. "He said he was glad I made the decision I did. The timing was right. He said he wanted me to help recruit other players."

Ming offered an interesting tidbit about this recruiting class: "It may not be as large in numbers as the last one, but it'll have some key guys."

Now, about this video conferencing thing... Did Ming enjoy the fame that came with being the video conferencing guinea pig?

"That was really cool," Ming said. "It'll be something I'll tell my grandkids about, I was involved in Coach Saban's first video conference. But it was also kind of funny. People would joke around that I would be the one to get Alabama on probation -- they didn't understand that it was all legal. It was pretty funny."

Ming described himself as a player whose best attribute is that "I try my hardest." Listen to his coach describe his abilities:

"He has a versatility that is going to allow him to be successful at several different spots," Athens coach Allen Creasy told Crimson Confidential. "The defensive line is where Alabama plans to use him and I think that's where he plans to play, but he's an awfully good tight end as well. That's one of the things that makes him so valuable to us."